"Was he taller? Bigger?"
"Yes. He was bald."
"Was he the one who did the examining?"
"He helped."
Harder questioned her closely about the human being. She was sure there was a human with them. He was different from the aliens. He had regular eyes and human features.
Roach began describing other features of the abduction and finally said, "They need us… I don't know why they need us. They're very intent. They need information quickly."
Roach began to talk about her children and started to cry. In seconds she was awake again. She sat for a moment, as if thinking about what she had just seen, and then wanted to talk about the experience. She said that the human was about 55, had a fringe of gray hair, wore glasses, dressed in black and wore one glove.
Harder had been worried because Roach had failed to show any emotions during the first session. For Harder, Roach's emotions during the second session had added a dimension of realism to the story. He was now convinced that Roach had been abducted by the crew of a flying saucer.
This idea, that emotional response is somehow related to the validity of the experience, has been disproved. In research conducted with Vietnam Veterans, it was seen in some cases that those who told horrific tales of combat with the proper display of emotion were later found to have not experienced the combat, had not been in Vietnam, and in one shocking case, the man had never served in the military. What this demonstrated was that the emotional content of the tale had no relation to the validity of the experience.
During the afternoon, Harder thought that everyone should get away from the house for a while. He wanted to move to neutral ground where everyone would have an opportunity to relax. Sitting in an ice cream parlor, Harder discussed some of the other abduction cases that had been reported over the last decade, including the Hill case. He went into some detail about what Betty Hill had reported. Harder told Roach about Betty Hill's belief that a needle had been pushed into her stomach and eggs removed. She had said, more than once, that she believed there were lots of little Betty Hills running around in space.
The final session was held was held on the evening of July 9. Of Roach's children, only Bonnie seemed to slip into a hypnotic state. In interviews conducted with the other children everything they had to say had been uncovered. Their tales were no where near as robust as that told by their mother. They told fragmented stories that provided a measure of corroboration if it was forgotten that they all lived together for two years before Roach wrote to me. From Roach’s letter, it was clear that they had discussed the events of October 17 many times and in great detail. Further attempts with hypnosis would be of no value and failed.
Using a room at a local hotel, both Roach and her daughter would put under. While Bonnie was left alone to concentrate on her experiences, Roach was given a pen and paper and asked to draw one of the aliens. She sat for a moment, as if looking at something, and then sketched, quickly, the one of the creatures.
With that accomplished, Harder again questioned Roach, asking for more details about what she had seen on the ship. She described the interior of the craft, mentioned a "clock" with lots of hands, and told of the human who worked with the aliens.
Again, after she had been floated back to the house, Roach began to worry about her children. She began to cry, and slipped out of the hypnotic state. Now she remembered the needle and thought that it had been pushed into her stomach. Remember, this was after Harder had asked the specific question in an earlier session, and had related, in detail, the experiences of Betty Hill to Roach.
With her mother awake, Bonnie too, slipped out of the hypnosis. Now she remembered being on the craft. She was standing near a wall and could see her mother on a table that floated, surrounded by alien creatures. She said that she didn't watch too closely because her mother had no clothes and she was frightened.
Then, Bonnie said one thing that excited Harder. She said, "I can see a human with them." She went on to say, "He was taller and he had an ear like a regular ear."
Bonnie then took the paper and sketched the scene as she remembered it. The drawing agreed with Roach had said earlier. The numbers of beings and the positions of them were all correct, just shown from a different angle.
According to Harder, the descriptions provided by Roach matched several other reports, some of which hadn't received any wide circulation. Only someone who had studied the phenomenon would be aware of the reports. There certainly was no way for Roach and her children to be aware of many of those cases.
Of course, the problem was that Harder was well aware of the descriptions and his questions sometimes lead to the description he wanted. At the time, I didn’t realize that the phrasing of a question, the tone of the hypnotist’s voice, and the gentle probing until he found the clue he wanted, dragged the report in the direction he wanted. It was quite subtle, and I’m not sure that Harder realized what he was doing as he questioned Roach. I certainly didn’t notice it until studying the case years later.
Harder was impressed by a couple of details. Because the majority of the story was reported while in a hypnotic state, Harder believed it added a note of authenticity. Harder was aware that a subject can confabulate under hypnosis, but he was impressed by her emotions. Her emotions, and her repeated worries about the children, suggested to Harder that the abduction was real. Of course, Harder had reinforced that idea several times telling her that she must be worried about her children. (And yes, that would be a natural assumption, but Harder erred in saying it to her on many occasions while she was in a state of hypnosis.)
There are a number of other very disturbing aspects in this case, however. First, and foremost, is the way the case reached the hands of researchers. Roach, after having read the story of an abduction in Saga's UFO Reportwrote to me in care of the magazine. Although Roach said she had read no books about UFOs and abductions, it is clear from her first letter that she had read magazine articles about them.
There are a number of parallels between what was reported in that article Roach read and what Roach said. For example, both report a domed disc, male and female beings involved, long hair, and elongated eyes. There are other similarities as well.
The problem for researchers is that there is a known source of contamination. It can't be suggested because there are similar items in both stories they both must be true. What can be said is that Roach could have picked up that information through her reading of the Llanca abduction tale.
The other point that must be made is that the family had discussed this among themselves for nearly two years. Almost from the very beginning, the family was talking about alien intruders. The story of Hickson and Parker was being reported nationally at that time Roach thought she was abducted. Hickson and Parker claimed an abduction on October 11, and according to various records, news of the case was reported, nationally, the following morning.
According to The A.P.R.O Bulletin, September-October 1973, it was at 9 a.m. on October 12, that APRO Headquarters received the first call about the Hickson-Parker abduction. After learning the details, Coral Lorenzen tried to find a psychologist to go to Pascagoula to interview Hickson and Parker, but none of the consultants could get away fast enough. The job fell to James Harder, just as it did two years later.
Harder interviewed both men and used hypnosis to attempt to learn more. After the sessions, he told APRO Headquarters that it would be nearly impossible for the men to simulate the feelings of terror while under hypnosis without some kind of outside stimulus. According to Harder, the terror both men displayed seemed to be quite real.